The child's temperature causes his family a lot of anxiety and anxiety. The kid is naughty, becomes lethargic, refuses to eat and the usual way of life. How to bring down the temperature of a child? Let's turn to the opinion of the children's doctor Komarovsky.
Temperature most often signals the presence of an inflammatory process in the baby's body. Dr. Komarovsky gives parents some practical advice to help lower their child's temperature in an affordable and safe way.
The benefits of rising temperatures
Contrary to popular belief, high fever is not just an indicator of illness. It signals the beginning of an active struggle of the body with viruses, microbes or bacteria that have got inside. Under the influence of heat, the production of natural defense begins - interferon. The more it accumulates in the body, the more active the immune response to inflammation and the faster recovery occurs.
For this reason, Dr. Komarovsky does not recommend that parents immediately use antipyretic drugs. Temperatures below thirty-eight degrees do not require lowering. The exception is children who are prone to fever-induced seizures. This condition, called febrile seizures, is diagnosed by a doctor and poses a serious health risk to the child.
Komarovsky insists on the fact that an illness in which parents are actively trying to lower the child's temperature will last longer. A decrease in thermometer indicators makes the condition of a sick baby much easier, but minimizes the development of the body's natural defenses, suppressing the immune response.
How to lower a child's temperature
If signs of the disease have appeared recently, Dr. Komarovsky advises trying to lower the child's temperature with available means:
- Ventilate the room the child is in often. In the fresh, cool air, germs and viruses do not spread quickly. A good air temperature for a sick baby is sixteen to eighteen degrees. At the same time, dress the child warmly to prevent hypothermia.
- Clean with an antibacterial agent and humidify the air. Excessive dryness makes it difficult for the baby to breathe through the nose.
- Let your baby drink more. Unsweetened compote, clean drinking water or tea will do. And no soda! Together with the liquid, harmful microorganisms will be excreted from the body. Drinking often and abundantly can also help keep you hydrated in extreme heat.
- Do not use “grandmother's” methods to relieve the child's condition: rubbing with alcohol or vinegar. Poisonous vapors of these substances easily penetrate the baby's body through the skin and can cause serious poisoning.
According to Dr. Komarovsky, if a child's high temperature (thirty-eight degrees and above) lasts more than three days, a runny nose, cough or other manifestations are added to the symptoms of the disease, you should consult a doctor. A specialist will examine your baby and help you choose the right treatment.
